Imagine sitting on a bench, a white bench set on a lawn that's a shade of green symbolizing the vivacity of life itself. The bench is white - the kind that one sees in Hollywood movies when showing scenes involving parks. The air is crisp without a shade of pollution. The only smell is of green grass and the smells of the small garden to my left - a heady mix of flowers and greenery that as a city dweller I have forgotten to identify, and therefore name. The view before me is breathtaking, no stupendous, no amazing; I am actually at a loss of words to describe the intensity and magnitude of beauty before me.
Below me is the view of the magnificent Emerald lake. It dawns on me, why it was named so, the suns rays hitting it created a shimmering hue seeming like a thousand diamond studded sheet waving calmly with the dark green mass of land in the middle of it and the lighter green shaded tea estates behind. From where I stood, the 180 degree view offered only natures bounty; no buildings, no air planes, no cars honking - just natures calm soothing silence and splendor peppered with the chirps of the sparrows and other birds.
Avalanche is located about 20 kilometres from Ooty, it is relatively less visited by tourists and so less touristy - meaning less crowded, less noisy, less polluted, less expensive etc. It has many lakes in its vicinity and the Red hills nature resort that me and my wife chose to celebrate our anniversary was on a hill overlooking the gorgeous Emerald lake. The resort arranged for our cab ride from Ooty. We had taken the KPN bus from Chennai to Ooty and it was bumpy. The better option would be a train to Mettupalayam and if you can plan it, the toy train to Ooty from there; else buses are plentiful on the route. The ride to the resort was about an hour.
As we reached Avalanche I was taken aback (I was taken aback the same way a few years ago when I saw Emerald lake waters with buddies) by the waters of the lake. There had been good rains this year, our driver said, and so the water level had increased quite a bit. The last time I had gone, me and my friends found a route to go down a bit and touch the water. This time around one didn't have to go down, the water level was up! Me and the wife asked the driver to stop the car like kids excited seeing the water and ran to the waters. It was so clear, crystal clear was defined.
We reached the resort - it was not exactly in Avalanche, but I think the name of the place was Nanjanad. The bungalow reminded me of a number of buildings I had seen in Ooty - all built by the British, in fact the boarding school I studied in had buildings of the same sort. We were greeted by Mr Vijay, the proprietor of the resort. After pleasantries (I simply must add, I was completely impressed by him, his English was impeccable, his gait was amazing, and I couldn't help thinking - this is a man of fine tastes in life) he casually asked someone working there to show us the free rooms and asked us to feel free to select the one we liked better. I was hooked to this place, this was not a snobby hotel or resort that made you think all rooms were filled even if there was no one there!
We saw both rooms, one offered the view of the lake and the other one a little further form the lake but accommodated a partial view of the lake, the beautiful hill side behind the resort and a rustic charming old temple in the compound. We took the temple view room.
We were asked if we had breakfast, we had already breakfasted in Ooty and politely declined. We went to our rooms, and were again amazed by the furniture and tasteful set up of the room. It even had its own fireplace. The bathroom has a nice tub that sadly accommodated only one. ;) The solar heaters worked perfectly and I took the pleasure of bathing for a full hour - hot water baths on hill stations is an experience everyone will get addicted to. We then were showed the dining room where meals were served. This was a proper home stay and so no room service etc. I don't get it when people go to a place of such pristine beauty why in the name of God would they want room service? I even saw a few idiots complaint about this on Tripadvisor. To all you morons, this is a home stay, not a five star hotel, this is how it works.
As we walked to the dining hall, I was stopped in my tracks. I saw her, she saw me. I was stunned by her beauty, she seemed charmed as well, for she started jumping with joy and started running towards me. It was love at first sight. I was in love with Mika, the 6-month-old golden retriever. I was overjoyed when she happily accepted my cuddling and belly rubs. I would have spent the day doing just that, but we had to explore and take in the place more. So after a brief petting we asked for tea - and the tea my friend was beyond words. Mr Vijay was from a family of tea estate owners and even owned their own factory earlier - it was probably why the tea was the best I had had in some time.
As all this was happening the cook came out of the kitchen looked up at the hill behind us and said look there, you can see Sambhar deer. I looked up; the place he was pointing to was at the top of the hill which was about 2-3 kilometers away. He even said "it is as big as a cow, can you not see it?" I looked at him apologetically and said no while my wife lied and said yes, so that he did not feel hurt. He went inside, came out with a pair of binoculars and yes, I did see it. My wife still didn't though :p He was so used to the terrain and place that he could spot the deer as far away as that with the naked eye.
As we were walking to the bench to soak in the beautiful view we came upon another entity that became by best friend on this trip. He was huge and initially I was apprehensive, but then with time I came to know he was the perfect example for the adage "the gentle giant". I was introduced to the star - Mobi.
Mobi was a 7-year-old German Sheperd. All he wanted to do was play fetch and so all I did the entire day was sit with the wife and Mobi, enjoy the calmness and the view and play fetch with Mobi. Mobi loved us so much that he followed us faithfully to our room and sat on the porch with us. Every morning he would come running to our cottage. He was the smartest cutest fellow ever! As Mr Vijay had said - anybody who has a fear of dogs only need be with Mobi for a few hours to change their perception.
With no cell phone reception, no TV, no computers, nowhere to go, I think it was the calmest day of my life in years! Clearly, this is a place for people who want calm and quiet. This is not for the people who want to see every tourist attraction, take a few snaps and leave. No, this was a place for contemplating natures enormous bounty to us.
The food served was home cooked. Non-veg dishes were also available for lunch and dinner. Me and my wife personally loved the food, the payasam they made one of the days for dessert still makes my mouth water.
The dining hall was tastefully done, in fact everything was so tastefully done that it stopped surprising me after a point. It has a nice comfortable sofa beside a fireplace. In the evenings me and the wife would huddle up on the sofa in front of the merry cackling fire and enjoy a drink. The music played on the Bose speakers was lovely - the selection ranged from jazz to soft rock to opera - and we loved it.
The nights in the room was strange for me - it was silent. I could hear my heart beat. And in the middle of the night I heard the Sambhar deer barking - tiger warning? Or a leopard perhaps? I drifted off to sleep anyway. The room we had taken was the one from where most views of wild animals had happened at the resort. Leopards were the most seen and a few lucky ones got to see Tigers. Best time to see these is apparently in May, but May is also the time when the resort is most crowded. We unfortunately didn't encounter any of the wild cats.
Among the host of things to do like trekking, cycling, fishing etc me and my wife chose the least painful- fishing. :p The track to the lake in itself was a small trek and the resort staff who took us explained the trees and animals and we even spotted a Langur on the way. He looked at us and shook his head showing his teeth like asking - "what you doing here people, this is my territory and I like my privacy" The turquoise water at the fishing spot was beautiful. The lake had recently risen and so the grass and foliage adjoining the lake had been inundated. We could see the grass under water.
We caught no fish; in fact I wondered why there was no fry in the shallow waters. All places where I have seen fish, the fry can be found at the edges;the recent water level changes could be a reason. Anyways we headed back and had sumptuous lunch.
That's the only activity we did. The rest of the time we sat on the rocking chairs laid out on the room porches and talked. Me and my wife had discussions about things that we miss out in the busy schedule of life. About books, about incidents, about our lives and ambitions.This is what I think was the most important aspect of this place. There was no rush to finish off ten more tourist spots, there was no pressure of getting up and leaving and maintaining a schedule. This was a holiday at its best.
More than the place and the resort, I think it is the people who made this place a wonderful one. Mr Vijay, for his style of running the place. It was not a purely profitable initiative for him, every act he did seemed aimed at only one thing - giving us an experience we will cherish for times to come. The staff, Mr Mathew the cook, Mr Manigandan the driver, Mr Arulraj who helped us with the food and mixing drinks, Mr Rajesh and Karthik for taking us fishing and showing us carrot and potato plantations. They did a fantastic job.
I am going to be a life long patron of this wonderful place. And I highly recommend it to all my friends.
Some things to remember when going to Red hills :-
1. It is not a run of the mill hotel. It is a home stay. You may not have room service, food of choice etc. For that one needs to book a room at a hotel on Ooty.
2. It is not possible to go to Ooty and come as one pleases, its a one hour drive one way.
3. The peak season is from March to May. Avoid if you want solitude and calm
4. Rainy season is from July to September - but the rains on the hills is an event in itself.
5. Activities are trekking, fishing, cycling etc. The treks can be a little difficult on account of higher altitude and the sedentary life style we are used to.
6. The Parsons valley wild life sanctuary is close by and is best to visit during May.
7. This is the place to go for a honeymoon. The hill views, the solitude, the chills would make for a wonderful romantic getaway.
8. The last 400 metres to the resort is a little bumpy - but once that is crossed you will have a slice of heaven.
Link to the resort website :- http://www.redhillnatureresort.com/
 |
| A panorama view of the hills from the bench (the bench in the pic was another one set perpendicular to the one I sat in when taking this pic) |
 |
| The view when the clouds decided to shower the hills |
Below me is the view of the magnificent Emerald lake. It dawns on me, why it was named so, the suns rays hitting it created a shimmering hue seeming like a thousand diamond studded sheet waving calmly with the dark green mass of land in the middle of it and the lighter green shaded tea estates behind. From where I stood, the 180 degree view offered only natures bounty; no buildings, no air planes, no cars honking - just natures calm soothing silence and splendor peppered with the chirps of the sparrows and other birds.
Avalanche is located about 20 kilometres from Ooty, it is relatively less visited by tourists and so less touristy - meaning less crowded, less noisy, less polluted, less expensive etc. It has many lakes in its vicinity and the Red hills nature resort that me and my wife chose to celebrate our anniversary was on a hill overlooking the gorgeous Emerald lake. The resort arranged for our cab ride from Ooty. We had taken the KPN bus from Chennai to Ooty and it was bumpy. The better option would be a train to Mettupalayam and if you can plan it, the toy train to Ooty from there; else buses are plentiful on the route. The ride to the resort was about an hour.
As we reached Avalanche I was taken aback (I was taken aback the same way a few years ago when I saw Emerald lake waters with buddies) by the waters of the lake. There had been good rains this year, our driver said, and so the water level had increased quite a bit. The last time I had gone, me and my friends found a route to go down a bit and touch the water. This time around one didn't have to go down, the water level was up! Me and the wife asked the driver to stop the car like kids excited seeing the water and ran to the waters. It was so clear, crystal clear was defined.
 |
| The crystal clear waters of emerald lake |
 |
| It called for a selfie - :) |
We saw both rooms, one offered the view of the lake and the other one a little further form the lake but accommodated a partial view of the lake, the beautiful hill side behind the resort and a rustic charming old temple in the compound. We took the temple view room.
 |
| The partial lake view was the left and the hill to the right. Missed taking a panorama shot of that. Isn't that temple charming? |
We were asked if we had breakfast, we had already breakfasted in Ooty and politely declined. We went to our rooms, and were again amazed by the furniture and tasteful set up of the room. It even had its own fireplace. The bathroom has a nice tub that sadly accommodated only one. ;) The solar heaters worked perfectly and I took the pleasure of bathing for a full hour - hot water baths on hill stations is an experience everyone will get addicted to. We then were showed the dining room where meals were served. This was a proper home stay and so no room service etc. I don't get it when people go to a place of such pristine beauty why in the name of God would they want room service? I even saw a few idiots complaint about this on Tripadvisor. To all you morons, this is a home stay, not a five star hotel, this is how it works.
As we walked to the dining hall, I was stopped in my tracks. I saw her, she saw me. I was stunned by her beauty, she seemed charmed as well, for she started jumping with joy and started running towards me. It was love at first sight. I was in love with Mika, the 6-month-old golden retriever. I was overjoyed when she happily accepted my cuddling and belly rubs. I would have spent the day doing just that, but we had to explore and take in the place more. So after a brief petting we asked for tea - and the tea my friend was beyond words. Mr Vijay was from a family of tea estate owners and even owned their own factory earlier - it was probably why the tea was the best I had had in some time.
 |
| Me and Mika - It was at love at first sight. I wonder if she felt the same though. :p |
As all this was happening the cook came out of the kitchen looked up at the hill behind us and said look there, you can see Sambhar deer. I looked up; the place he was pointing to was at the top of the hill which was about 2-3 kilometers away. He even said "it is as big as a cow, can you not see it?" I looked at him apologetically and said no while my wife lied and said yes, so that he did not feel hurt. He went inside, came out with a pair of binoculars and yes, I did see it. My wife still didn't though :p He was so used to the terrain and place that he could spot the deer as far away as that with the naked eye.
As we were walking to the bench to soak in the beautiful view we came upon another entity that became by best friend on this trip. He was huge and initially I was apprehensive, but then with time I came to know he was the perfect example for the adage "the gentle giant". I was introduced to the star - Mobi.
 |
| Me and the gentle giant - Mobi |
Mobi was a 7-year-old German Sheperd. All he wanted to do was play fetch and so all I did the entire day was sit with the wife and Mobi, enjoy the calmness and the view and play fetch with Mobi. Mobi loved us so much that he followed us faithfully to our room and sat on the porch with us. Every morning he would come running to our cottage. He was the smartest cutest fellow ever! As Mr Vijay had said - anybody who has a fear of dogs only need be with Mobi for a few hours to change their perception.
With no cell phone reception, no TV, no computers, nowhere to go, I think it was the calmest day of my life in years! Clearly, this is a place for people who want calm and quiet. This is not for the people who want to see every tourist attraction, take a few snaps and leave. No, this was a place for contemplating natures enormous bounty to us.
The food served was home cooked. Non-veg dishes were also available for lunch and dinner. Me and my wife personally loved the food, the payasam they made one of the days for dessert still makes my mouth water.
The dining hall was tastefully done, in fact everything was so tastefully done that it stopped surprising me after a point. It has a nice comfortable sofa beside a fireplace. In the evenings me and the wife would huddle up on the sofa in front of the merry cackling fire and enjoy a drink. The music played on the Bose speakers was lovely - the selection ranged from jazz to soft rock to opera - and we loved it.
 |
| A view of the lit up dining hall. See the lovely colored lights? |
The nights in the room was strange for me - it was silent. I could hear my heart beat. And in the middle of the night I heard the Sambhar deer barking - tiger warning? Or a leopard perhaps? I drifted off to sleep anyway. The room we had taken was the one from where most views of wild animals had happened at the resort. Leopards were the most seen and a few lucky ones got to see Tigers. Best time to see these is apparently in May, but May is also the time when the resort is most crowded. We unfortunately didn't encounter any of the wild cats.
Among the host of things to do like trekking, cycling, fishing etc me and my wife chose the least painful- fishing. :p The track to the lake in itself was a small trek and the resort staff who took us explained the trees and animals and we even spotted a Langur on the way. He looked at us and shook his head showing his teeth like asking - "what you doing here people, this is my territory and I like my privacy" The turquoise water at the fishing spot was beautiful. The lake had recently risen and so the grass and foliage adjoining the lake had been inundated. We could see the grass under water.
 |
| The turquoise coloured water |
We caught no fish; in fact I wondered why there was no fry in the shallow waters. All places where I have seen fish, the fry can be found at the edges;the recent water level changes could be a reason. Anyways we headed back and had sumptuous lunch.
That's the only activity we did. The rest of the time we sat on the rocking chairs laid out on the room porches and talked. Me and my wife had discussions about things that we miss out in the busy schedule of life. About books, about incidents, about our lives and ambitions.This is what I think was the most important aspect of this place. There was no rush to finish off ten more tourist spots, there was no pressure of getting up and leaving and maintaining a schedule. This was a holiday at its best.
More than the place and the resort, I think it is the people who made this place a wonderful one. Mr Vijay, for his style of running the place. It was not a purely profitable initiative for him, every act he did seemed aimed at only one thing - giving us an experience we will cherish for times to come. The staff, Mr Mathew the cook, Mr Manigandan the driver, Mr Arulraj who helped us with the food and mixing drinks, Mr Rajesh and Karthik for taking us fishing and showing us carrot and potato plantations. They did a fantastic job.
I am going to be a life long patron of this wonderful place. And I highly recommend it to all my friends.
Some things to remember when going to Red hills :-
1. It is not a run of the mill hotel. It is a home stay. You may not have room service, food of choice etc. For that one needs to book a room at a hotel on Ooty.
2. It is not possible to go to Ooty and come as one pleases, its a one hour drive one way.
3. The peak season is from March to May. Avoid if you want solitude and calm
4. Rainy season is from July to September - but the rains on the hills is an event in itself.
5. Activities are trekking, fishing, cycling etc. The treks can be a little difficult on account of higher altitude and the sedentary life style we are used to.
6. The Parsons valley wild life sanctuary is close by and is best to visit during May.
7. This is the place to go for a honeymoon. The hill views, the solitude, the chills would make for a wonderful romantic getaway.
8. The last 400 metres to the resort is a little bumpy - but once that is crossed you will have a slice of heaven.
Link to the resort website :- http://www.redhillnatureresort.com/
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